"Goli chali hai CP mein” was the hottest topic of discussion in Connaught Place on Thursday, after a PCR received a call at 1pm about an accidental firing in CP’s N block. A gun went off at Starbucks, triggering panic among guests. It belonged to a 61-year-old businessman and fired accidentally after it fell on the floor. Luckily, no one was injured as the bullet struck a table. Madhur Verma, DCP New Delhi, says, “It was a case of accidental firing. When the accused was leaving the outlet, his revolver fell on the ground and a shot was fired accidentally. The PCR received a call from Starbucks’ staff and when the police reached the spot, a revolver with five live rounds and an empty cartridge were found on the spot. We have registered a case under Section 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act. We have confiscated the weapon.” The accused, Anil Kumar, was arrested and released on bail on Thursday. His arms licence had also expired last year. We recommend that all restaurants frisk customers: Delhi PoliceWhile frisking is routine in nightclubs, most cafes and restaurants don’t have metal detectors. Verma says, “When the accused entered, he had concealed his weapon, so they didn’t stop him. In our meetings, we recommend that restaurants and cafes not allow any person carrying a weapon on their premises. But it is up to them to implement it. Five-star hotels in Delhi don’t allow anyone carrying a weapon, but in restaurants, sometimes they have guards who frisk customers and sometimes they don’t.” A number of restaurants also display notices at their entrance asking customers to not carry weapons. A guard outside a food outlet in N Block tells us, “Guests who usually argue with us when frisked were asking on Thursday, ‘Bhaiyya checking kyun nahi karte?’.” Restaurateurs divided over feasibility of every restro, cafe frisking guestsFor restaurateurs, such an incident is a “nightmare” because even though most restaurants have a ‘no arms and ammunition allowed’ door policy, they say it’s impossible to know if someone conceals a weapon and enters their premises. But what about frisking and metal detectors? They are a probable solution and many venues are using them, say owners, but also point out that not every cafe or coffee shop can have the infrastructure to employ these methods.

‘Frisking not an option for all cafes, coffee shops’Rahul Singh, founder of Beer Cafe and President of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), says that the CP incident is scary for restaurateurs, “especially for owners of small establishments who cannot afford additional staff to keep a check on every guest entering.” He adds, “This is a reminder that despite having boards at the entrance of our restaurants saying ‘right to admission reserved’ and ‘arms and ammunition not allowed’, there is always a chance that a person can hide a gun and enter the premises. We don’t need to fear for establishments at malls and airports as every person there is frisked and there are scanning machines. But it’s a problem for eateries at markets and other public places. Some nightclubs also have frisking and scanners, but for restaurants, it is very tough to know if a person is entering with a gun.” Asked if frisking at all restaurants can prevent an incident like this one, he replies, “It totally depends on the size of the establishment. There are some restaurants who might put additional staff to do this, but for places like cafes and coffee shops, frisking is not an option. Not many of them can afford that kind of staff, and they are known to be places where anyone can walk in and spend hours.” ‘For markets like CP or GK, market associations should install metal detectors’Saurabh Khanijo, owner of Kylin, says that “such cases are a reminder that anything is possible.” He says, “Since our outlets are in a mall, we never had to worry about this, but I think for outlets in markets like CP or GK, market associations should have metal detectors to check every person entering the market. I’m not sure frisking is a feasible option for every restaurant, cafe or coffee shop.”

‘All venues should have frisking’Some restaurants already use metal detectors individually. Arjun Sagar Gupta, owner of The Piano Man Jazz Club, says that such a case is “extremely rare. I’ve been in the industry for a while and have barely heard of a handful of such instances.” He says frisking at the entrance should be employed to ensure security. “Arms and ammunition are not allowed in our establishments. I don’t think frisking is a problem. Our security agency lightly frisks guests with a handheld detector, and faced with instances like this, it is a basic safety process,” he adds. Restaurateur Umang Tewari says that in Delhi, it’s now important to have metal detectors and frisking at every establishment. “Though such a case has never happened earlier, when it does happen, it’s eye-opening. We realised a few years back that we can’t take any risk when it comes to safety, so we have frisking and metal detectors at our restaurants,” he says. All necessary measures were taken to ensure safety: StarbucksSpokesperson from Tata Starbucks, says, "We are aware of this unfortunate and isolated incident that took place at the Starbucks N Block store. All customers and partners (employees) are safe and all necessary measures were taken to ensure their safety, which is our highest priority. Tata Starbucks complies in accordance with local laws and regulations and are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities." ‘We are frisked before boarding a metro, can do so at restaurants’"Malls anyway bar entry of people with firearms, we get X-rayed and frisked to travel on the Metro, so we shouldn’t object to being frisked in other places too. In an ideal scenario, we shouldn’t have to get checked just to get a cup of coffee, but there have been incidents abroad where gunmen have targeted people in cafes, pubs and nightclubs," adds, Aeshna Nigam, assistant professor, Shivaji College. ‘We should learn from mass shootings in the west’ Mandavi Jha, PhD student, Delhi School of Economics, says, "Someone at a coffee shop should never be afraid that the person sitting next to them is carrying firearms which may go off ‘accidentally’. CP has around 100 pubs, cafes, restaurants and coffee shops, but not everyone does security checks. We should learn from the mass shootings in the US and the one in a Mexico nightclub in March this year." ‘We are accustomed to frisking’

Devika Gupta, MA student, DU, says, "I read that the person was unaware that his gun was loaded. If this is the case, people should be frisked before entering coffee shops, pubs and restaurants. Malls, movie theatres, hotels – common people have become so accustomed to frisking and security checks that it doesn’t matter if it happens in cafes as well." - With inputs from Riya.Sharma@timesgroup.com and Ashni.Dhaor@timesgroup.com In Video:Gunshots inside CP coffee shop trigger question: Is it time for mandatory frisking?